Brian Read and Ruth Galinis were among the 27 participants who gave up their beds Friday night to help the homeless and those living in poverty during the Great Soup Kitchen Sleepover.
The pair began taking part in the annual soup kitchen fundraiser about six years ago. This year’s event went virtual, so instead of sleeping in front of the soup kitchen like previous years, Read and Galinis used boxes donated by a local furniture store in order to make their shelter outdoors on their deck.
Galinis told SooToday that the fundraiser is a reminder of “how life can change quickly.”
For Galinis and Read, the message they wanted to share this year was that “anyone can be one step away from homelessness” due to tragedy or unexpected hardships that could lead to mental health and addictions issues.
This year’s fundraiser raised a little over $5,000, which will assist the Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen Community Centre with the overhead costs associated with its day-to-day operations.
Ron Sim, general manager for the soup kitchen, told SooToday last month the fundraiser usually brings in about $20,000 a year for the Soup Kitchen, but he wasn’t expecting to raise that much this year due to the fact that monetary donations have been down since the start of the pandemic.
Last year’s sleepover fundraiser was cancelled altogether due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was actually very pleased, personally. I mean, I know with the times we’re living in how money is getting tighter and tighter for so many people,” said Sim, speaking with SooToday Sunday. “And we didn’t really know what to expect in the way of participation or anything. But it was good.”
“We are fortunate enough to have had sleeping bags and warm clothes to keep us warm throughout the night, plus a place to set up knowing we would not be moved along or vandalized,” said Galinis. “But most importantly we knew that in the morning we could go back into a comfortable house with all the necessities - food, hot shower [and a] proper bed to sleep on.”
The Great Soup Kitchen Sleepover has raised approximately $450,000 for the Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen Community Centre since its inception 14 years ago.